Wildfires flared up in drought-stricken southeast Georgia, destroying several buildings and forcing hundreds of fire-weary residents to leave their homes. Deputies on Thursday visited about 100 homes in and near Astoria, a tiny community three miles southeast of Waycross, asking people to leave as a wildfire in the Okefenokee Swamp approached. Most had just returned home after evacuating for several hours Wednesday. In the past 11 days, fires have blackened 95 square miles, or about 61,100 acres, of parched forest and swamp. Officials said 18 homes were destroyed. "My nerves just can't take it anymore," said Mary Howell, 51, as she packed stacks of framed family photos in the trunk of her Lincoln Towncar for the second time in two days. "I haven't slept in a week since this stuff started."... http://www.msnbc.msn.com

The Legislature on Thursday moved to head off a federal takeover of the state prison system, approving a huge borrowing plan to add beds for inmates and refocus efforts on rehabilitation programs. But despite its scope nearly $7.8 billion in state money the bipartisan plan ran into immediate resistance by labor unions, prison reform groups and some lawmakers. They questioned whether it would fix the prison system or create even more problems by allowing room for thousands of additional inmates. The package would add 53,000 beds; boost education, job training and other rehabilitation programs; and allow the governor to continue to transfer thousands of inmates out of state. It includes more than $6.1 billion for construction of state prison cells, $300 million for various other prison improvements and more than $1.2 billion for 13,000 beds to be built at county jails. Local governments would contribute an additional $300 million. ...http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3086947

Six years ago, anyone in a boat could have gone up the murky Brazos River, hopped ashore & walked up to a tank holding one of the world's deadliest chemicals here at the nation's largest petrochemical complex. Today, that intruder wouldn't stand much of a chance of getting close to the round, 5-story storage sphere that holds a key ingredient needed to make plastic. Chain-link fences topped with 3 layers of barbed wire line the banks of the river running through Dow Chemical Company's 3,200-acre complex. Microwave-beam alarm systems & more fences ring the tank, surveillance cameras scan the perimeter, armed guards patrol, the tank's control room is secured, & the tank itself sits on a concrete slab equipped to quickly contain any chemicals released in an accident or attack. The post-9/11 security upgrades at this massive plant have made Dow an example of what must be done at chemical plants nationwide, says Bob Stephan, infrastructure protection chief at the Homeland Gestapo Dept....http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-04-26-chemical-security_N.htm?csp=34

Army Sgt. William Fleming can still see the nine paratroopers hovering over him after the anti-tank mine blew out his eardrums and ripped him with shrapnel last November. "When I got blown up, every one of them came and checked on me," Fleming says, his voice quivering as his hands move to cover his face. Now, every one of them is gone. On Monday, two suicide truck bombers attacked his reconnaissance scout unit's outpost in Iraq. The explosion killed nine soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division and wounded 20 others. Together, their deaths represented the single deadliest day for the division since the fabled unit lost 12 paratroopers in Vietnam in June 1969. It was the worst day for U.S. forces in Iraq since Dec. 1, 2005, when a roadside bomb killed 10 Marines in Fallujah....http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-04-26-fort-bragg-mourns_N.htm?csp=34

Suspected anarchists threw gasoline bombs at cars parked outside a central Athens police station on Thursday, destroying 12 vehicles in the latest in a series of arson attacks, authorities said. Police said two patrol cars, four unmarked police cars and a police motorcycle were among the burned vehicles. There were no injuries or arrests. The attack reportedly was carried out by a group of 30 to 40 masked youths in the capital's Exarcheia district, a traditional stronghold for anarchists. The youths escaped on foot. Anarchists have stepped up arson attacks to show solidarity with inmate protests in Greek penitentiaries that began after guards allegedly beat an anarchist bank robbery suspect. ...http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=3086844

All eight Democratic contenders for the United States presidency have attacked President Bush's policy in Iraq. They were speaking in the first TV debate ahead of the November 2008 election. Speakers urged the president not to veto a bill passed by both houses of Congress which sets a timetable for withdrawing US troops from Iraq. "If this president does not get us out of Iraq, when I am president, I will," said New York Senator Hillary Clinton. Another front-runner for the Democratic nomination, Illinois Senator Barack Obama, said: "We are one signature away from ending this war." However, the president has said that he will veto the bill next week. The debate was held in South Carolina, which will be the first southern state to hold a primary election, early next year. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6596267.stm